Aerial view.

Top floor of Bell Mill with
cast iron columns.

Gazebo in the central
courtyard.

Drawing of Bell Mill and
entrance lodge.

Stanley Mills is situated in rural Perthshire in a picturesque setting on the bend of the River Tay just a few hundred yards south of the planned industrial village of Stanley. Founded in 1785, they formed the largest and most northerly industrial cotton development of the day. The complex is a remarkable testament of Scotland's industrial heritage.

The development of the mills charts the growth and decline of the cotton industry in Scotland. The three main mill blocks, Bell Mill, East Mill and Mid Mill, form a U-plan. Bell Mill which drew water from the Tay through an 800 foot tunnel, was designed by Sir Richard Arkwright innovator of the water-powered spinning process and pioneer of the factory production system. Completed in 1790, Bell Mill is the oldest textile mill known to contain cast iron columns throughout its structure. East Mill was the second mill to be completed, c1800. The last of the great mills to be constructed was Mid Mill c1800, which forms the link between Bell Mill and East Mill. There are also a number of ancillary buildings including offices, workshops, gatehouses, a summerhouse and turbine house.

Throughout its history, Stanley has not only reflected the changing fortunes of the weaving industry but also the changing needs of society. At the height of productivity the mills employed over 800 workers, mainly women and children from Stanley Village. Both World Wars saw the mills dedicated to the production of webbings for the armed forces. During the 1920's the mills prospered and embarked on a modernisation programme which included the building of a new hydro-electric scheme, widening of the lade and a modern power plant. The depression of the early 1930s resulted in a drop in the workforce to just 291 employees. However, by the end of that decade the mills were once again flourishing producing such diverse products as bookbinding webbing, brake linings for automobiles, upholstery webbings and cigarette machine tapes. Changes in weaving techniques combined with soaring costs of raw cotton and increased demand for man-made fibres meant that in 1976 weaving at Stanley ceased and the mills finally closed in 1989.

In 1995 the mills were saved from demolition and taken into the care of Historic Scotland. Working in partnership with the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Phoenix Trust, Historic Scotland plan to fully regenerate the site. Once again the mills reflect the changing needs of society with Mid Mill and East Mill being developed for private housing by the Phoenix Trust. However, Stanley Mills still retains much of the 18th century character, including the lades and the wheel pits of the original water powered mills. Bell Mill is to be open to the public and will aid promotion of Scotland's industrial past.

The RCAHMS collection includes a number of historic photographs including workers and their children, interior and exterior photographs of the mills and the ancillary buildings, photographs of the turbine under construction, aerial photographs, photographic copies of original drawings, manuscripts and drawings including plans, sections and elevations.

John Adam's plans.

View by Valentine
including the nursery wing,
c.1880.

Detail of staircase by Hew
Montgomerie Wardrop
(1888).

Ballochmyle House lies 3km to the south-west of the village of Mauchline in Ayrshire. Originally built for the Whiteford and Alexander families by John Adam from 1760 to 1767, it was a fine example of a Palladian mansionhouse. The plans in 'Vitruvius Scoticus' illustrate the central five bay block linked by quadrant arms to the 2 storey, 3 bay pavilions. The house was to undergo many alterations over the years, the first of which being the addition of a new nursery wing and service courtyard to the east side of the north pavilion seen in the photograph of the west entrance façade dated c.1880.

Lieut-Col. Claud Alexander bought Ballochmyle on his return from overseas and set about a major remodelling scheme carried out by the architect Hew Montgomerie Wardrop in 1888. The alterations required demolition of the wings, almost entirely replacing the entrance façade and providing a new service courtyard whilst increasing the accommodation by adding a new attic floor and formal rooms. In stark contrast to the Adam building the new house became a mixture of Jacobean and Queen Anne style with bay windows, a steep pitched roof and high masonry chimneys all crafted from local red sandstone. The interior detailing included panelled oak doors, interior arches and a new principal staircase.

In 1938 the house was sold to the Department of Health and converted into a hospital, the house being used as nurses accommodation whilst 8 new ward blocks were built in the curtiledge of the garden grounds to the west of the house. Although the hospital continued to operate in the grounds, Ballochmyle House itself became redundant and was vacated in 1969 and thereafter received little maintenance. Despite concerted effort by local amenity groups the house has been threatened with demolition. Whilst it is clearly untenable for use as hospital accommodation by modern standards, the future of the house as an independent prospect for conversion or reuse remains problematic.

Mains Castle.

Torrance House c.1850.

Mains Castle.

Mains Castle stands on a knoll overlooking a narrow vale approximately one mile north of East Kilbride. The castle is a category A listed building and is of rectangular plan arranged over four storeys with caphouse and parapet. In 1382 Robert II gave the lands of Kilbride to Lindsay of Dunrod. He moved the family seat to Kilbride Castle where they lived until the building of Mains Castle in 1450. The castle remained in the possession of the Lindsay family until 1619 when the then Laird was forced to sell it to settle his debts. The Stuart family of Castlemilk bought Mains Castle and in 1650 they bought the estate of Torrance House.

The Stuarts began to enlarge Torrance House and in 1723 removed the slates from the roof of Mains Castle to use in the rebuilding work. The castle began to fall into disrepair and was subject to some remedial repair during the 19th century. A history of East Kilbride written in 1793 referred to the existence of a deep fosse surrounding the castle and a drawbridge to the east. The drawbridge was entered through a gateway surmounted by the royal coat of arms. The Stuart family again plundered the castle when this coat of arms was removed and set above the door at Torrance House.

Over the next hundred years the castle continued to deteriorate and in 1976 it was purchased and restored as a private dwelling.

RCAHMS holds bibliographic references and photographs of Mains Castle as well as a set of drawings showing the restoration. In addition, RCAHMS holds extensive records for Torrance House which is also a category A Listed building.

Lerwick, The Lodberry.

Lerwick, The Lodberry.

Lerwick, The Lodberry.

Troswick, Clack Mills.

Drawing of Huxter, Norse
Mill.

Stenness, Fishermen's
Huts.

This month focuses on Shetland and includes examples of the type of building common to the islands. These architectural types reflect the strong relationship between the islanders and the harsh environment that they inhabit.

Lerwick's Lodberries
The Lodberry originally described a flat rock that could be used as a natural landing place. This natural feature became the foundation for the merchant's houses and stores along the waterfront at Lerwick, providing boats with access to unload directly into a merchant's courtyard. The word has since become a generic term for this type of building. These photographs are of 'The Lodberry', an 18th Century grouping of buildings, including a house, stores and curing-shed, situated at 20 Commercial Street. It was originally known as Robertson's Lodberry, after Bailie John Robertson, who was a joint agent for the North of Scotland, Orkney and Shetland Steam Navigation Company. As Lerwick's waterfront has changed in recent years the Lodberry has remained virtually unscathed and is 'A' listed by Historic Scotland. These prints along with others taken in 1959, two colour postcards and a sepia toned postcard with the title 'Lerwick, Venice of the North', are housed on open-access within the RCAHMS library.

Troswick, Clack Mills
Clack Mills, also known as Norse or Horizontal Mills, are a common industrial relic on the Shetland Islands. The name 'Clack' comes from the noise that was made during use and is a term more commonly used outside of Shetland. The mills sit, usually in groups, along the course of one of the many small burns that run off the hills and into the sea. At one time there were hundreds of these small buildings dotting the landscape and many were still in use up until the Second World War. The photograph shows an islander standing in the lade that channels water from the adjacent burn into the waterwheel below. The illustration shows a survey drawing of a mill and its parts. As you can see, the waterwheel sits in a horizontal position and it is for this reason that they were also known as Horizontal Mills. The RCAHMS library holds a number of good photographs on open-access, showing mills in various locations across the Shetland Islands and in varying states of repair. This mill is one of a group of eleven situated alongside the Burn of Clumlie at Troswick, one remains in working order and as a group is 'B' listed by Historic Scotland.

The Fishing Industry

To see more photographs of the Shetland Islands, including a survey of military remains, please come along to the RCAHMS public search room where they are housed on open-access. If you prefer, you can explore our database Canmore, where you will find these sites.

Lighthouse and keepers'
houses.

View from north east.

Lighthouse and keepers'
houses.

Corsewall Lighthouse and it’s Keepers’ Houses (NW97SE 15), prominently situated on the northern tip of the Galloway peninsula, were built to mark the Scottish side of the channel between the Rhins of Galloway and the Irish coast to ensure the safe passage of ships to and from Ireland. The lighthouse was built by Robert Stevenson (grandfather of Robert Louis Stevenson) in 1815 and the light first came into use on the 15 September 1816. An engine room was added and some alterations were made to the houses by Robert’s grandson, David A. Stevenson, in 1889. The lighthouse, which along with the keepers’ houses, is a category A-listed building, consists of an 86ft tapering tower, built of white-painted whinstone. The keepers’ houses, also constructed from whinstone, were built to be separate from the tower so that dust from domestic fires would not damage the light’s apparatus.

The light room is copper-domed and the original clockwork machinery and brass fittings remain. The light, originally provided by an oil-burning lamp and it’s 12 reflectors, was so powerful that covers were provided to prevent spontaneous combustion! The tower suffered minor bomb damage in 1941 and although the light was automated in 1964, the beacon’s 22-mile range still protects ferries crossing to and from Ireland today.

RCAHMS holds not only photographs and bibliographic references relating to the lighthouse and cottages, but also copies of the original Stevenson drawings, as well as the Northern Lighthouse Board’s drawings for the many other lighthouses around Scotland that were designed by the famous Stevenson family. The three, three-bedroomed keepers’ houses were sold by the NLB in 1994 and they have since been converted into a four star hotel. It is still possible to climb up the lighthouse tower and take in the views from the galleries.

View from south.

South front entrance.

East wing of library.

The library.

Newhailes House is set to open to the public in June 2002, under the care of the National Trust for Scotland. RCAHMS has a large number of photographs and plans of this fascinating building, and the grounds in which it is set.

The house was designed by the architect James Smith, and built in 1686. Smith's design was for a seven bay, two storey house. Named Whitehill, it was the residence for the architect and his family. Sir David Dalrymple adopted the name of Newhailes upon purchase of the property in 1709. The Dalrymple family then oversaw a series of extensions and interior work between 1709 and 1760. This work enlarged the house into its current form. William Adam designed the three-bay pavilions and linking bays, which maintained the symmetry of the house. The harled walls with stone dressings were also designed to match Smith's original central block.

The most elaborate feature on the entrance façade are the upper and lower entrances (left); the former has a pediment bearing a latin inscription meaning 'I honour the stayer' and the heads of a young and old man. The lower entrance door has a porch supported by Roman Doric pillars.

The largest room in the house is the library (right), which takes up the whole of the east pavilion. False windows on the entrance façade allow bookshelves ten shelves high to line the walls. Light is provided through windows on the east wall.

The interior of the library (left) provides a good example of the quality of interior fittings that have survived throughout the whole house since the time of the Scottish renaissance, a De Medina portrait above the fireplace, the carved shells that are a constant theme throughout the building, and fine wood panelling.

There are also charming small original features; intruder alarm bells are attached to the insides of shutters, designed to alert the household to any activity at the windows (right).

Newhailes provides a wonderful example of the evolution of a Scottish country house throughout the centuries, and is sure to be a popular attraction. Indeed, the photographs held within RCAHMS may provide the only glimpses inside Newhailes for some time; demand to visit the house is so high that the guided tours of the property have been booked solid for a number of weeks after the official opening of the house!

Knockbrex Toy Fort
(JR Hume).

Knockbrex Toy Fort
(JR Hume).

Corseyard Farm Dairy.

Corseyard Farm.

The work of the Architecture Cataloguing Project includes locating country house estates all over Scotland. Recently one of the team came across the quirky castellated buildings of one such estate, Knockbrex in the parish of Borgue in the Stewartry district of Dumfries and Galloway. These buildings are designed to resemble miniature forts with architectural features like crenellations, square squat towers, turrets and Gothic style windows. The buildings are all well built with good materials and high quality craftsmanship.

The estate buildings comprise: Knockbrex House and Knockbrex Castle, also appropriately known as the Toy Fort. This was originally built as a folly and also used as a motor house. In addition there is a stable block set out around a courtyard, a farm and a bathing house, which is situated on the rocky coast close to the house. These were all built for Mr James Brown between 1895 and his death in 1920. Mr Brown was a wealthy cloth merchant from Manchester, who was the chairman of the drapery firm of Affleck and Brown. The architect attributed with the design of these buildings is Mr Higginbottom from Manchester whom Mr Brown had employed to design other buildings.

In addition Mr Brown also commissioned Mr Higginbottom to design Corseyard model dairy. This building, known locally as the “Coo Palace” was constructed between 1911 and 1914 and is located on the rugged coastline a short distance to the east of the Knockbrex estate. Castellated Italianate architectural features are used to great effect at the “Coo Palace” which is surrounded with low walls, decorated with panels of seashore pebbles.

Kirkandrews Church, which was built by Mr Brown between 1905 and 1906, is situated in the hamlet of Kirkandrews further to the south east of Corseyard. It is also designed to look like a small castle complete with decorative portcullises over the door and windows. Perhaps fittingly, given his influence in constructing such a distinct group of buildings in this area, there is a memorial to James Brown prominently situated in front of the church.

Prestwick Air Terminal,
1965.

Prestwick Air Terminal,
1965.

Postcard.

Postcard.

The RCAHMS Collections include valuable records of buildings, which have since been demolished. Orangefield House was an eighteenth-century Georgian mansion, which looked out over Prestwick Golf Course and the Firth of Clyde towards the jagged Arran peaks; and was subject to some interesting changes over the course of its history.

Referred to in 1723 as the 'house of monktoun', it was built by Hugh Baillie, whose father had acquired the estate in 1695. However, financial difficulties forced Baillie to dispose of the estate, and it went to James Macrae, one time Governor of Madras. He renamed the house Orangefield, after William of Orange, whom he also commemorated by erecting a statue in Glasgow.

A later owner of Orangefield was the Earl of Glencairn, whose son, James Dalrymple, had associations with the poet, Robert Burns. Burns describes Dalrymple in The Vision as 'The owner of a pleasant spot, Near sandy wilds'. The sandy wilds were of course, Prestwick sand dunes; and the phrase suggests Burns may have been a visitor at Orangefield.

The building saw significant change in the last century. In 1933, the house was converted into a hotel with modern facilities, to serve the nearby Prestwick Airport. However, the airport was developed at the beginning of the war, and soon the wide-spreading grounds of the estate vanished, leaving Orangefield surrounded by concrete runways and hangars.

During the war years Orangefield House was requisitioned to become the Officer's Mess for the R.A.F. station, and in August 1943 it became the airport terminal building. It was at this point that an incongruous structure of steel, glass and concrete was constructed, so that it appeared to sprout from the roof of the mansion. From here, air traffic controllers guided in airliners from transatlantic flights. The interior was also converted into the terminal buildings of the aerodrome. Soon all but the façade of the original building looked out on the hustle and bustle of the modern airport. Finally, with the extension of the runways to take larger airliners, it became 'an obstruction', and was demolished.

Postcard.

Postcard.

These two prints of the George Bennie Railplane are a good example of the interesting RCAHMS collection material that we come across as part of our work on the Architectural Cataloguing Project. For each region of Scotland that we cover there are many archive boxes of photographs, which are on open access in the RCAHMS public search room. The photographs show Bennie's Railplane on the test site near Milngavie (NMRS Ref: 101, NS57SE, NS 5556 7346).

George Bennie (1891-1957), a Scottish entrepreneur and inventor, first announced his plans for the venture in 1921 and following the construction of 130m of track the Railplane was officially launched on 8th July 1930. Although the invention was considered promising, the economic climate of the 1930s, lack of interest by the transport authorities and hostility by the four main main railway companies meant that Bennie's hopes for the future of this system were not realised.

The test track and carriage remained until they were dismantled and sold for scrap in 1956. However, there are still remnants of the track's concrete pylon 'feet' with Kelvin Timber occupying an area adjacent to the demolished wooden terminus building/platform. A model and a short film showing the Railplane can be seen at the Glasgow Transport Museum.

View from south west.

Detail of north west angle turret.

This building dominates the cemetery in which it stands. Designed by Patrick Allan Fraser as a family tomb, construction began in 1875 and took some nine years to complete. The most striking feature of the building is the lack of convention with regards to architectural style, with each facade treated in an eclectic manner differing from the last which affords the building a real vibrancy, enhanced by the use of local red sandstone, with the various towers and turrets creating an interesting skyline. One cannot fail to be captivated by the beauty of the carvings which adorn the building, the interior of the Chapel being no less impressive. An example of the sheer quality and outstanding workmanship carried out by local craftsmen can be seen in this detail of Christ standing in a richly decorated niche. The frieze on the canopy above depicts a traditional Scottish funeral procession with pall bearers carrying a coffin followed by the mourners. Each of these figures have been afforded the same attention to detail as the sculpture of Christ himself. Recurrent naturalistic motifs, particularly those of animals and foliage are to be found both externally and inside the Chapel. Patrick Allan Fraser passed the building over to Arbroath Town Council and it is currently used for funeral services of every denomination. It's continued use ensures that the people of Arbroath will enjoy this building for many years to come.

Detail of corbelled-out column above east entrance.		Detail of statue in niche on east facade.		South east turret.